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I have seen 1 or two answers to this, but none of them have had a comprehensive list of ALL of the backup methods on this list and what each of them is used for and the similarities and differences between all of them. I'm asking for what these things do and why you would use one over the other.

Here's what I've gathered so far.

File History: Saves older copies of files
Backup and Restore: ??
System Image: Complete clone of the hard disk put into a file
System Protection (Restore Points): used to roll back files.

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  • When you get a chance, look over my answer here that may help clarify some for you. Jul 12, 2016 at 3:13
  • I guess the primary question here is "What's the difference between File history vs Backup and Restore" File History does point-in-time backups..; it backs up files that've been changed since the last backup. It's does (or it's supposed to do) an incremental backup rather than full backup.
    – w32sh
    Jul 12, 2016 at 9:15
  • But how does this differ from system protection, which also lets you do point in time backups? Jul 12, 2016 at 11:30
  • System Protection doesn't do anything with user files. Backup and restore can be used to backup a complete disk (including user files).
    – DavidPostill
    Jul 12, 2016 at 14:31
  • So backup and restore and system image both are a complete disk like you said, so what's the difference between them? Jul 12, 2016 at 15:27

1 Answer 1

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These feature names itself gives you a hint on their functionality.

File History: It is the complete record of changes made to a file. You can roll back changes and get an older copy of a file.

It is more useful, if your accidently deleted a file or it turned to garbage. You can simple use File History to restore the file.

Backup and Restore: As the name suggests, it is useful to create a system back and restore from a backup already created.

System Image: It is a clone of your C drive in a .vdi (virtual disk file), stored on another drive.

A system image can only be used to reimage the same computer on which it was created.

Tip: You can extract individual files from a System Image by mounting the .vdi with Explorer.

System Restore Point: It is a backup of all your Settings, apps and some other utilities required by Windows.

It is recommended to create a restore point before editing registry, installing a new software, etc.

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